2025 Conference Objects

Managing Relationships through Boundaries: A Library Publishing Conversation

Cong-Huyen, Anne; Jackson, Esther M.; Jerome, Erin; Pope, Kathryn

“Boundaries are good for everyone.” Veronica Arrellano Douglas

This session, facilitated by librarians and library staff supporting digital publishing programs within academic libraries, discussed the role of labor, relationships, and care in the provisioning of services to our academic communities through the frameworks of Human-Centered Leadership (HCL) and Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT). By their nature, library publishing programs may be small, run by staff supporting many other library programs, and are often competing for inter-libraries development resources and technical support. Boundaries are an essential communication mechanism and management tool used to maintain healthy relationships, safeguard against staff burnout, and protect space needed for program and service growth.

The session facilitators reflected on the importance of boundaries, defined within RCT as “a place of growth and productivity rather than restriction and separation,” for establishing and maintaining manageable publishing programs with respectful constraints that center the needs of the people involved: academic staff, students (graduate and undergraduate), and faculty. (Schwartz 39)


Works Cited
Arrellano, Veronica. “Boundaries as Meeting Places.” Presentation. CALM 2023 Conference.

Schwartz, Harriet. Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education Routledge: New York. (2019)

Marone, Mark. (2024) “How Human-Centered Leadership Helps People Adapt to Change,” Harvard Business Publishing